An early election could be in the cards in Scotland (Image: Getty)
has been brutally mocked after hinting at a possible early election despite the ‘s General Election drubbing back in July.
The First Minister of Scotland has made a desperate plea to opposition parties to support his next week, warning that failure to do so could wreak havoc on the natoin’s public services.
The government is anxiously awaiting the outcome of its spending plans in Holyrood, set to be presented by finance secretary Shona Robison on December 4. The Lib Dems and Scottish Greens are the most likely candidates for a deal, but it remains uncertain whether either will back the Nats – and failure for them to do so could even trigger a future snap election in Holyrood.
This could be disastrous for John Swinney, given that his party lost the vast majority of its seats in the earlier this year.
Mr Swinney delivered a passionate speech at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on Wednesday morning, where he outlined his vision for and later stated his readiness to face an early Holyrood election if necessary.
:
John Swinney’s party suffered an electoral humiliation on July 4 (Image: Getty)
Although failing to pass a budget wouldn’t automatically trigger a vote, it could potentially lead to a chain of events resulting in a Scottish election before 2026. When questioned about pre-budget “brinksmanship”, he responded: “I’m simply saying that if we don’t have enough votes, we don’t have a Budget.”
“There’ll be a lot of disruption and on April 1 there will be no Budget plans in place that will afford public services at the level people expect. That’s the very real, practical difficulty that will be faced, and I want to avoid that.”
Following John Swinney’s reference to Voltaire during his address, the Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay was quick to scoff at Swinney’s reference to the French philosopher’s famous line: “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.”
Mr Findlay told : “John Swinney can quote Voltaire all he wants but all that people in Scotland want is some common sense.”
Highlighting pressing concerns, he continued: “They’re not fussed about French philosophy, they want real action here in Scotland to kick-start our economy, improve our schools and reduce NHS waiting lists.
“The Budget must start to undo the damage that the has done with years and years of punishing tax rises.”
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our
Findlay then called out the , adding: “We’ve set out fully costed proposals to reduce taxes for aspirational workers and businesses. If the want to talk about tax cuts, they know where we are, but we suspect they’re working up another grubby deal with the Greens that hammers Scots with higher bills.”
In his speech, Mr Swinney highlighted the importance of collaboration and despite the ‘s lack of majority and history of bitter political battles, he claimed his view of the opposition was always one of partnership, saying: “I hope that is how they see themselves.”
He said: “Opposition for opposition’s sake is all well and good where governments have comfortable majorities, but put simply, in the Scottish Parliament today, if there is no collaboration, there is no Budget Bill.
“We can choose to be mired in party politics, or we can choose to put first and foremost our duty to the people we represent.”